Dear Friends and Family,
It is so good to write you all and thank you for your prayers for L.’s safe arrival and my recovery from an emergency cesarean. I believe this is the first time I (Becky) have written since her birth and it’s a joy to share with all of you again.
L. is growing and doing well. She’s gaining ¾ ounce per day, smiling, laughing, rolling up onto her side, grabbing at toys, and kicking as if her life depended on it. It’s so wonderful to watch her while I nurse her, talk with her, snuggle with her, sing to her, and listen to her “talk” and coo. I love watching her different expressions and having the most wonderful “conversations” about anything and everything. And best of all, she’s sleeping through the night! I’ve enjoyed teaching and working with other kids, but of all the different jobs I’ve had, this is where it’s at! I have a strong sense that for the next 20 years or so, nothing will trump this vocational call. Anything else I do will just be another job.
There’s something about parenthood that brings on a whole new level of vulnerability. My heart is full of joy when I’m with L. and I ache for her when she is not with me. My desire to protect her is so strong that it took all my self-control not to tackle the young lady drawing her blood in the hospital. The grizzly bear in me wanted to draw some blood from her! (Okay maybe that’s an exaggeration, but it was difficult – same with her immunizations). This is kind of a new sensation for me since I’m normally a pretty fun-loving person.
All of these thoughts, feelings, and experiences have me thinking about God as a Father, especially as Christmas draws near. It puts new light to the sacrifice of Christ and the costly gift He was for us. Even just to send Jesus to Earth was an enormous sacrifice. This is certainly not a paradise here. He entrusted his Son – his most precious gift – to the young mother, Mary. And on the cross the all-powerful God who controls the cosmos turned away, giving up the control and the power to save his Son. I sense a whole new level of vulnerability as a mom. It seems that for us, God chose to experience vulnerability. We were worth that sacrifice.
What keeps coming to mind recently is the verse: “But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong,” (I Cor. 1:27, NIV, also see verses 26-31). He gave up his Son to become lowly and weak (also see Phil. 2:6-11). God allowed Christ to be humbled – to enter the earth in the form of a child – in order to baffle the wise. What almighty God would take such a meek form?
May Christmas be the reminder to you of God’s gift and sacrifice. May you be amazed at his choice to humble himself and become a child for your sake.
I want to expound a little on a prayer concern and request, asking you to be in prayer for us, especially these next few weeks. On December X, we plan to fly out of Indy, through Santa Cruz, Bolivia and then Cochabamba, Bolivia. We are taking a different route for concern of L.’s health entering the La Paz airport at 13,000 feet. We plan to spend a week or so in Cochabamba, which is around 8,000 feet, to adjust some there. We have received varying medical information and advice and this is part of the reason for our delay in returning. Other missionaries we know of have delivered their babies in La Paz, which is a little different. We weren’t able to rely as much in this situation on others’ experiences. If all goes well in Cochabamba, we will then fly to La Paz, where our home and ministry are. There are plenty of children living in La Paz and El Alto, but as we discovered even with my pregnancy, things can sometimes be different when your ancestors haven’t lived there for centuries.
So, first of all, we are praising God for the extra time we’ve had to rest and recuperate and for Word Made Flesh’s understanding and cooperation with us. It has granted me some needed recovery time and L. some extra growing time since she was so tiny. Adam has been patient with the changes in schedule and continues to substitute teach. Because our paternity/maternity leaves are up, we are doing what we can to work remotely, sell purses, etc.
But I would ask, too, that you be in prayer for L.’s adjustment.
§ Pray that she gets the oxygen she needs for her healthy growth and transition.
§ Pray that the flights and connections go smoothly so we have the ability/energy to continue to care for her needs.
§ Pray for wisdom and discernment as we evaluate how we all are adjusting to the altitude and life in Bolivia. We believe we need to go back, but please pray for confirmation around us.
§ Pray that God would hem us in, behind and before, and lay His hand upon us (Psalm 139:5).
And as an aside, we have a little news for Suti Sana. The new website (www.sutisana.com) should, Lord willing, be up and running December 1st. So if you have a few moments, take a look and hopefully there will be some new products to check out.
With humility and love,
Becky, Adam, and L.